Raiders shut down Maxx Crosby (knee) for season, including Giants game with major NFL Draft implications

The Las Vegas Raiders officially ruled out defensive end Maxx Crosby for Sunday's game against the New York Giants due to a knee injury and later placed the star pass rusher on injured reserve, ending his 2025-26 season. That announcement comes on the heels of reports that Crosby left the team facility after receiving the news from the team that he wouldn't play, a decision he "vehemently" disagreed with, according to Fox.

When first-year Raiders coach Pete Carroll addressed reporters Friday, he said Crosby will not play in Week 17 and has been dealing with a nagging knee injury since the Kansas City Chiefs game in Week 7. He also acknowledged that Crosby was understandably frustrated with the team's decision to withhold him from playing, so Carroll excused him from the building.

"We talked when he was getting out of here that he's been fighting this thing for nine weeks or whenever Kansas City was," Carroll said. "Each week, he has done everything you could possibly imagine a guy could do to play. We've worked with him to get through it. After an evaluation we did on Monday or Tuesday, it's just too bad. He didn't want to take the news like that. I didn't want to take the news like that. ... If we'd have let him, he'd have been out there, and he would not have hesitated. But he knows he's banged up.

"He said, 'I'd like to get out of here,'" Carroll added. "I said, 'Yeah, get out of here. Take off.'"

Asked to characterize Crosby's reaction to being shut down, Carroll said it was "exactly like you think he would do and should do." Knowing Crosby's competitive nature, Carroll said he expected that response, especially since Crosby has been battling through the injury for weeks.

"As a matter of fact, I anticipated it all the way throughout," Carroll said. "I've been with him since I saw him get on the bus in the Kansas City game -- just having trouble stepping up onto the bus and getting out of that game. He's just been fighting his ass off the whole time. He's impeccably positioned himself as good a competitor as you can be. You can't battle more than he's battled. He'd do anything to be playing."

Battle for draft top pick: Giants at Raiders set for rare Week 17 matchup that NFL hasn't seen in 44 years

John Breech

Carroll denied that this decision would cause a rift between Crosby and the organization, despite speculation that the star pass rusher could now be a trade target in the offseason. While he didn't rule out Crosby for Week 18, Carroll did say it was a possibility.

At 2-13, the Raiders and Giants are both in contention for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and their Week 17 meeting will have major implications on which team picks first in April. The Raiders are 2.5-point home underdogs against the Giants, per DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Crosby was asked about the possibility of the Raiders landing the No. 1 pick earlier this week and was blunt with his feelings on the subject.

"I don't give a s--- about the pick to be honest," Crosby told reporters Tuesday. "I don't play for that. That's not my job. My job is to be the best defensive end in the world and that's what I'm focused on every day, and being a great leader and being an influence -- being that guy on a consistent basis for my team. That's [the NFL Draft] their job, the front office, the coaches, they do that. But that's got nothing to do with me." 

The 28-year-old Crosby, one of the NFL's top pass rushers, has long been thought of as a top trade candidate, especially for a Las Vegas team that seems headed toward a long rebuild period. The Dallas Cowboys reportedly showed significant interest in Crosby before the 2025 trade deadline, but no deal materialized.

Crosby, who has been vocal about his desire to stay with the Raiders, signed a three-year contract extension worth $106.5 million in March. At the time, it made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. 

A fourth-round pick of the Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft, Crosby has two second-team All-Pro honors and five Pro Bowl appearances during his time with the Raiders. He led the NFL in tackles for loss from 2022-23 and has reached double-digit sacks in three of the last four seasons. In 15 games this season, Crosby has 73 tackles, 28 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.